Month: January 2013

K.C.MAHINDRA SCHOLARSHIPS FOR POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ABROAD
A ladder for talent to rise.
The trustees of K.C. Mahindra Education Trust offer interest-free loan scholarships to Indian nationals for post-graduate studies abroad in various fields. Applications are invited for the K.C. Mahindra Scholarships for Post-Graduate Studies for the year 2013. The maximum amount for the scholarships will be Rs. 2 lakhs except for the 3 K.C. Mahindra fellow scholarships for which the maximum amount will be Rs. 8 lakhs per scholar.

Applicants for the scholarships are required to satisfy the following conditions:

• They must possess a FIRST CLASS degree or an equivalent diploma of similar standard from a recognised Indian university.

• They must have secured admission or have applied for admission in reputable foreign universities for courses commencing from September, 2013 but not later than February, 2014. Candidates studying in the FINAL YEAR of the degree or diploma courses are also eligible to apply, provided they produce their final year certificate before 30th June, 2013.

Application forms can be collected from K.C. Mahindra Education Trust, Cecil Court, 3rd Floor, Near Regal Cinema, Mahakavi Bhushan Marg, Mumbai-400001 or downloaded from http://www.kcmet.org/whatwedo/initiatives/scholarship.html and submitted in the prescribed format. Prescribed application forms duly filled in by the applicants together with necessary enclosures must reach the Trust Office before 31st March, 2013.
The final interview of the candidates will take place in the month of July, 2013. The interview date will be intimated to the selected candidates by the end of May, 2013. For more details log on to http://www.kcmet.org/whatwedo/initiatives/scholarship.html

The town of Navsari, near Surat in Gujarat, is the ancestral home of many eminent Parsi families (of which several were prominent in the China trade). The First Dastoor Meherjirana Library was founded and endowed by a prominent mercantile family and it has been sustained for over one hundred forty years by other Parsi families from Navsari.

The library’s brochure explains: ‘in 1872, a wealthy Mumbai Parsi, named Navsariwala Seth Burjor Bamanji Padam, commissioned a building to be erected on his own land, known as Lakkad Falia, and, with a fund of Rs 225, the First Dastoor Meherji Rana Library was born’.

The library is named after a figure of great significance in Parsi history – a Zoroastrian savant by the name of Meherji Rana: ‘According to a Persian biography in the library’s possession… Meherji Rana was chosen by the Mughal governor at Surat to have an audience with the Emperor Akbar to explain the Zoroastrian religion. During his stay at the court from 1578-9 AD, Meherji Rana impressed the emperor so much that according to the Mughal court historian ‘Abd al-Qâdir al-Badâ’ûnî, the empreror ordered his vizier Abu’l-Fazl to keep a fire burning day and night at the court… Meherji Rana’s presence in Akbar’s court was a great historic incident for not only the Parsis for Navsari, but for the whole Parsi community. Appreciating this, when he returned to Navsari, all the priests accepted him as the head of the Navsari priests, and for the first time the title of high priest (vadâ dastur) was bestowed. Therefore, he became famous as the First Dastoor Meherji Rana, beginning a priestly lineage which continues to the present day.’

A Jashan ceremony will be held on the occasion of the 14th Anniversary of the Dadgah Saheb at the MF Cama Athornan Institute prayer hall on Roj Behram,Mah Shehrevar Y.Z. 1382, on Sunday 3rd February, 2013 at 4.45 p.m. This will be followed by a contributory Machi which will be performed in Aiwisuthrem Geh.

Contributions for the above Machi and for the Dadgah Saheb may be given to the Principal at the M.F. Cama Athornan Institute, 12, Cama Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai-400058.

Young Professionals Norouz Retreat

March 1- March 3, 2013, New York City

Zoroastrian Youth of North America (ZYNA) will be kicking off the NEW YEAR 2013! Join us, in the BIG APPLE, for a celebration filled with festivities, friendship and fellowship.

This will be a networking social retreat geared towards established professionals (ages 25-45) who want to network. The new generation of Zoroastrians will be able to strengthen friendships and connect with like-minded professionals that live and work by the core beliefs of our religion.

Mingle and surround yourself with energetic, ambitious people who are contributing to society through their professional endeavors. ZYNA is on a mission to give professionals the opportunity to connect, share ideas, resources, thoughts, and opportunities. Our vision is to cultivate a professional community of young Zoroastrians that is focused on building relationships and working together to learn, grow and make a difference in the world we live in.

Professionals from North America, and possibly even abroad, will come together to connect. Regardless of your professional ties, you will be surrounded by like-minded people who do not just want to fit into this world, but shape what it can be.

ZYNA is committed to establishing FEZANA’s legacy by preservation through generations!

Sadeh is also known to be a Zoroastrian celebration of fire and driving the cold winter away with the new light and warmth of spring and summer. It is a time of chasing away falsehood with the light of truth. On this holiday children go around door to door and collect wood for the fire. While adults are in charge of the fire pit, children are running all over their neighborhoods looking for old tree limbs and other pieces of wood for the fire. It should be noted that contrary to myth, Zoroastrians do not ‘worship’ fire. Fire is sacred because it is what really separates human beings from animals. Both man and animal can think, reason, and make tools. But only man can make fire. According to Zoroastrians fire was the ‘breakthrough technology’ that helped gets it started. It was a direct gift from God, given with the mandate for man to be responsible for it.

According to many scholars, after Ziarid and Ghaznavid Dynasties, the tradition was virtually lost even amongst the Zoroastrians. In Pahlavi era (1925-1979) it was revived and adopted as a major celebration by the whole Zoroastrian community and presently it is increasingly popular among the rest of the Iranians. Today, this special event of Sadeh seems to have no religious significance for the majority of Iranians and no specific rituals are involved other than torching bonfire at sunset and having a good time and therefore keeping up with the ancient traditions when much fun used to be practiced.

Karachi 67.1 E being further West than (Bombay) Mumbai would be 61.6 minutes behind IST.

You may be able to arrive at a more accurate time for the 3 cities, by adding or subtracting the figures indicated here-in above from the IST time given in the attached tabulation

Check out the correct time for your city rather than go by the Time Zone your city/town falls in. Remember it is 4 minutes plus or minus for every degree that you place longitude and your time zone longitude is based on.

Hi all, received this from a friend
Do pass this on as some good may come out of this.
To All Fellow Bawas.

Most of us go to the known fire temples that have graced our localities as far back as we can remember, but there are some fire
temples numbering about five or so that are not known to most of us. They were built when the Parsees were a thriving community and are now located in areas where our community does not even exist or exist in miniscule numbers.

As a result, they are facing a financial crunch due to lack of patronage. They need money for kathi to keep the fire alive. A minimum
of one tonne of kathi is required per month per fire temple. Each tonne costs Rs 14,000/-

My neighbour Khorshed Meherjee who has been taking up good causes has been collecting individual donations for this purpose ever since this scarcity was brought to her notice. She then buys a tonne of kathi & distributes the same where required. Please contact her directly on +919820495907. She meticulously maintains all records & will be delighted to show you the receipts of the kathi purchased from your money as well as the receipt from the fire temple that receives it.